Hall of Famer Dave Parker helped make gay disco anthem part of baseball history
Dave Parker's World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates are synonymous with 'We Are Family.' Plus, a thirst trap that'll make you say Woo. The post Hall of Famer Dave Parker helped make gay disco anthem part of baseball history appeared first on Outsports.
Mark
Welcome back to Talkin’ Gaysball where if you hear any noise, it’s just us and the boys boppin’…
New Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Dave Parker was synonymous with intimidation throughout his brilliant career. The late Pittsburgh Pirates legend possessed a howitzer of an arm in right field and a vicious power stroke that utilized his entire 6’5” frame, truly living up to his nickname of “Cobra.”
Thanks to his key role in the World Champion 1979 Pirates, he’ll also be linked forever with one of the greatest gay anthems of all time.
Two months into that legendary season the Bucs looked anything but iconic, plodding along to a 23-21 start. But during an interminable rain delay that June 1, Parker and fellow Hall of Famer Willie Stargell were passing time in the dugout listening to the PA play a series of Top 40 hits. That’s when they heard the song that would transform their team’s fortunes.
Get off the sidelines and into the game
Our weekly playbook is packed with everything from locker room chatter to pressing LGBTQ sports issues.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today
“We Are Family.”
The Sister Sledge disco classic about the eternal bonds of sisterhood seemed like an unlikely candidate for a jock jam, especially in that machismo-driven era.
But as soon as it hit the Three Rivers Stadium speakers, Stargell was on the phone to the Pirates PR director, demanding, “When this song is done, I want you to make the announcement that this the official Pirates clubhouse song.”
It’s probably the only instance in history of the same song sharing the soundtracks of a 1970s baseball locker room and “The Birdcage.”
Related
For the Texas Rangers, Barbie Night was as close as they’ll get to a Pride Night
For a team that avoids Pride, the Rangers Barbie jersey giveaway was really gay. Plus: the Phillies perfect kiss cam and a wet musical Thirst Trap…A gay baseball fan’s guide to the hottest players at the All-Star Game
Sure, MLB has its own statistical methods to determine who’s an All Star. We prefer categories like Arms, Legs, Smile, and Glutes.
Parker originally wasn’t sure about naming it the team anthem, though, advocating for “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now.” But as Pittsburgh’s leader, Stargell’s love for Sister Sledge won the day.
Then once the rains subsided, Parker ended up crushing a bottom of the ninth inning game-tying three- run homer in a contest Pittsburgh eventually won in a walk-off. That cemented everything. “We Are Family” became the official 1979 Pirates theme song and the Buccos never looked back.
By the end of the summer, Three Rivers Stadium was playing Sister Sledge during the seventh inning stretch instead of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” It was the equivalent of replacing Harry Caray’s broadcast booth with Studio 54.
In retrospect, it feels a bit redemptive that a song about found family and inclusivity played such a key role during the year of the infamous Disco Demolition Night. Despite blowing up hundreds of Gloria Gaynor and Donna Summer masterpieces, the disco demolishing White Sox still finished in fifth place with a lackluster 73-87 record.
As for the team that embraced a gay disco anthem? Following a dramatic World Series comeback to defeat the favored Baltimore Orioles, Parker emerged from the Pirates team plane holding the commissioner’s trophy aloft as “We Are Family” blared and thousands sang along throughout Pittsburgh airport.
Decades later, Parker summed up what that song and that team meant: “We are a family. And those guys that are still living, I love ‘em all.”
Today you can still hear “We Are Family” playing every day at Parker’s new home: the hottest club in Cooperstown.
MLB Thirst Trap of the Week
Seattle Mariners pitcher Bryan Woo made his first All-Star game this year. While he earned it with his performance on the mound, it also helped that even MLB’s generic All Star warmups look good on his torso.
Naturally, with a name like Woo, it was only fitting that he would also take the field at some point in cleats bearing the visage of Ric Flair.
But if you caught a glimpse of him in a muscle shirt, you’d be forgiven for assuming that Woo’s arms were actually paying tribute to The Rock.
Subscribe to the Outsports newsletter to keep up with your favorite out athletes, inspiring LGBTQ sports stories, and more.
The post Hall of Famer Dave Parker helped make gay disco anthem part of baseball history appeared first on Outsports.
